Category Archives: Fiat Group

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Italian car market sinks. Fiat Group down 24%

Photo by 500blog

September 2012 was again a terrible month for Italian car market, down a massive 25,7%, the biggest fall since March 2012. Italians bought 37.000 cars less than one year ago, 44.000 less than two years ago, and 80.000 units less than in September 2009. That’s why specialized press has constantly said that there is a demotorizzazione of the market, which means that Italians are not buying cars as they used to since late 60’s till 5 years ago. Partly because of current European economic situation and partly because those years in which Italian government helped people to buy cars are gone. Fiat is part of the problem and the solution, but this time it seems it will have to do more by itself than with Italian support. In September the whole group sold 24,2% less than one year ago, again a bit better than total market. Fiat gained more market share while some of its main competitors contributed to a deepest fall of the market: Ford (-38%), Opel (-34%), Citroen (-32%) and Renault (-38%). In the other hand, VW was down only 13%, and Peugeot -5%. But the fact that there are other losing more market than Fiat does not mean that the situation of the Italian group is not bad. Certainly a double-digit fall is a worrying issue because it means that there is no such big market they had in mind when they built the factories all over Italy. Of course first victims of this disaster are new models that required a big investment for its development and now they don’t find the clients. Old models can do it better from the point of view of profits as their development costs are already amortized. Obviously less innovation means less sales, so the key is to find the right scenario for investment, innovation and sales.

Sales figures and variation for September 2012/2011. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net and UNRAE

Fiat brand was down 23% due to the Punto and surprisingly the Freemont, which was down a massive 53%. It is the first time it happens with this Crossover, as it was having very good results since its launch last year. There are two possible reasons: the first one could be the beginning of decline period of the Freemont as it was not an all-new model when it was introduced. And the second one, more feasible, is the emerge of new Fiat 500L, which had its first complete month in the dealerships. Last month 938 Fiat 500L were sold in Italy, 29 more units than Fiat Freemont. The Freemont sells around 1.500 units per month. Though they are not direct rivals, as the 500L belongs to ‘B-MPV’ segment while the Freemont is a ”D-MPV’ and their prices are quite far away from each others, it all seems that the new 500 MPV got some sales figures of its bigger brother. At the end most of Freemont’s offer is composed by 5 seats with diesel engines, which is pretty much what the 500L offers: 5 seats with lots of efficient diesel engines, and during this difficult times, some families would choose the cheapest option, no matter the big difference there is between them. Lancia’s sales figures dropped 26% because of the big fall of the Ypsilon, down 40%! Why a new car as the Ypsilon is having such bad results? car sales per segment indicate that ‘B-Segment’ is the most affected one with current crisis as the few people who buys a car are not looking for the traditional 5 door compact hatchback but for cheaper ones no matter the car is smaller. The Ypsilon is part of that change. Alfa Romeo sold 24% less, which is not bad at all as it depends on only 2 models, one of them extremely competitive but the other one far away from that denomination. The Giulietta continues to impress no matter the great power the VW Golf has in Italy and the new competitors coming from Germany. There is no doubt that Alfa Romeo guys must be really worried about coming months when the new generation of VW Golf will arrive. Jeep has the worst result, down an impressive 59%. It seems the new Grand Cherokee can not do it by itself and the lack of modern ‘C-SUV’ offer affects considerably Jeep’s total registrations. Ferrari was down 52% and Maserati -55%.

Italy car sales by segment A, B and C. (e) for estimated. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net, UNRAE

938 Fiat 500L were sold in September. It allowed it to be the second best-selling small MPV in Italy. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

 

 

Click here to see Italy October 2012 results

Click here to see Italy August 2012 results

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Fiat-Chrysler to exploit the small platform

Photo by 500blog.blogspot.com

The platform Fiat uses for its Punto and MiTo will soon be available in much more models. The idea is to build future larger cars such as minivans and SUV, for many brands of the group. The first model to use it is the ‘B-MPV’ Fiat 500L which goes on sale in Europe this month and in the US market next year, all of them built in Serbia. But Fiat wants more and is expected that a small SUV under Fiat and Jeep brands will use it too. It is unclear if next generation Jeep Compass/Patriot, which belong to ‘C-SUV’ segment, will use this platform as it can be enlarged up to 4.4 meters in length and can be equipped with petrol engines up to 2.4 liters. Fiat calls this platform the ‘Small’ one, while the CUSW platform is the one for larger models such as the Alfa Romeo Giulietta that is the base for Dodge Dart/Fiat Viaggio, and may be the same base for future Chrysler 200 to be presented in Detroit 2013.

The idea with the use of the ‘Small’ platform is to offer several models from a unique base so Fiat can save money building the cars wherever they need to. It is also part of Fiat plans in Italy after the meeting Sergio Marchionne and John Elkann had with Italian government. The main conclusion after the meeting is that Fiat and the government will look for solutions to enhance local production more focused on exports to American market. Obviously it means that they will have to work hard on more competitive models so they can some success in that difficult market. Marchionne asked for government financial help as it happens in Brazil with their new factory in Pernambuco. The hard thing is whether Italian government can do it when it is facing so many problems with the debt. If it is just a matter of getting lower interest rates for loans it is certainly a good move, but if Fiat wants the government to be an active part of the solution, personally I think it will not solve anything at the end. If there is any company that always depends on public help when things don’t work, it means that something does not work, and public intervention means less independence and more problems with unions.

Source: Automotive News Europe

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August/12, Fiat suffers in a terrible Italian market

One more terrible month for Italian car market. Again the fall was above 20% and things don’t seem to get better. During August 2012 Italian market fell 20.23% compared to August/11, which means it is the third month in a row with a drop above 20% after June (-24.4%) and July (-21.4%)*. It was by far the worst result among big markets in Europe (Germany, France, UK, Spain, Benelux) and means a big threat for the future of Fiat Group in Europe, which considers Italy as its ‘fortress’ such as France is for Renault or PSA. It is why some important car industry analyst continue to look for solutions to stop the crisis that could result in another factory closure in the next months. The Automobile Club d’Italia, ACI, said this week that what the government is doing has not helped at all to solve the problem. “Government’s policies have focused only in the rise of taxes to car buyers, who are now decreasing the use of their cars looking to reduce their expenses… more than going forward, car industry is using the reverse, at least in our country: like this there is no future. We ask the government to establish a work group to create a strategy to give some oxygen to car buyers and companies, so more than 10.000 jobs can be saved. The first and immediate policy could be the reduction of taxes on gasoline“. In fact what makes Italian market to have the worst fall among European car markets is that gas prices and new taxes are the rising a lot. Italians buy fewer cars as having one means more expenses than before and economic situation in Europe does not seem to get better in the short or mid-term.

Europe’s sales registrations during August 2012

In this terrible context Fiat-Chrysler sold 16.699 cars in August 2012, or 29.58%** of total market. It means the whole group’s sales figures fell 20.59%, a bit more than total markets’. The reason for this fall on its market share (one year ago it was 29.72%) is explained by the big fall of Lancia, down 32%, strongly dependant on Ypsilon model which had a strong fall. Something that did not happen to Fiat and Alfa Romeo. Fiat registrations fell ‘only’ 17.54% allowing it to gain more market share, while Alfa Romeo was down 20.49%. The other 3 brands, Jeep, Ferrari and Maserati, the small ones in terms of units sold, had very bad results. Ferrari sold only 6 units, down a massive 63%, while Maserati sold 4 units, down 72%. The reason for the super cars fall is the new policy against the owners of this kind of cars. Anyway less units sold of these two brands has a bigger impact on profits. Comparing to other car makers, Fiat brand sold 2.4 more cars than its immediate competitor, VW, while one year ago it sold 2.31 more cars than Ford, the second one by that time. Fiat’s fall was lower than Ford, Opel, Citroen and Renault’s, while VW, Peugeot, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai and Kia (+78%) did better. Alfa Romeo did better than BMW but Mercedes and Audi had lower falls. It sold more cars than Mercedes.

Italy’s car sales figures by brand during August 2012. Fiat brand did better than total market while Lancia did bad because of the fall of the Ypsilon. Source: UNRAE

In terms of models the situation is pretty much the same. The Panda was again the best-selling car and was up 10%, while the Punto was in second place, down 50% and only 680 units above the Ford Fiesta, the second place of B-Segment. But what really impresses is the massive fall of Lancia Ypsilon, down 49%. It is the first time this new generation has bad results and Lancia must be thinking of what went wrong and what to do for the coming months for a model that is still considered a new product. The small 500 fell 4% thanks to new versions and colours, but also because VW has not been able to gain a good place among A-Segment cars with its Up!. The Giulietta did well with more than 1.000 units sold, allowing to be Italy’s 10th best-selling car and this time 670 units behind the leader, the old VW Golf (the Alfa was down 9.7% while the Golf was down 16.5%). Other good results come from the Lancia Musa, up 125%, and the Thema with 48 units delivered, up 300%. The Bravo sold only 489 units, down 45% while the Freemont begins its slowdown as it sold 13% less than one year ago.

Top 5 per segment in Italy in August 2012. Certainly B-Segment is the one with worst results and the Peugeot 208 is catching some part of that segment. The same happens with the Panda which is killing its rivals from France. Source: UNRAE

Year-to-date numbers show that 290.840 Fiat, Lancia, Alfa, Jeep, Ferrari and Maseratis were sold until August. It means   73.604 cars less than one year ago, or -20.19%. Compared to total market’s performance (-19.86%), Fiat-Chrysler’s share is now 29.64% while one year ago was a bit better, 29.77%. Only Ford, Toyota and Renault did worse than that, while Germans fell but not that bad, and Koreans gained a big share of the market, as it is happening in Europe. At the end Fiat-Chrysler is suffering the consequences of a market that was tainted by government helps for several years, and now is doing the opposite. What Fiat must do is to depend less not only on Italian market but on government aid, no matter if it means less units sold, because at the end those units will be safe and real sales.

 

Click here to see Italy September 2012 results

 

*www.carsitaly.net

** UNRAE

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Fiat-Chrysler 2012 First half results analysis

After some days waiting for official data now is possible to have a close analysis to Fiat-Chrysler sales figures in the main markets and most important models. The overall result could be considered more or less good though the troubled European market may change that at the end of the year. The whole group has sold around 1.8 million cars* in the first six months of 2012, up 5.7%, which is not considered bad in current conditions, especially taking into account that Italy counts for 13% of total sales and is a market that dropped 20%. It all means that the small growth in units sold is due to the great success most of Chrysler Group models are having in the US and Canada. Brazil would not be included in the list of good results as Fiat brand slow down its growth following the total market (-0.3%). The analysis by models shows two different worlds: Europe with terrible results for old products, and USA for good results for most of all the models, no matter the fact they are mostly old models.

ITALY

Italy is Fiat’s main problem nowadays. The dependence of the group is evident and therefore total sales and practically all models are having very bad results. What used to be Fiat’s best selling car now occupies a second place and is severely affecting the whole company. The Punto, which counts for almost 23% of the group sales and drops 32%, much more than the market, and than its rivals. The ‘restyling’ gotten at the beginning of the year has not had any effect because consumers of B-Segment seem to prefer the new generation of Toyota Yaris (a fall of just 5.5%) or the new Peugeot 208 (4200 units). Then comes the Fiat 500 that falls even more due perhaps to the fact that is now facing its 5th year on the market without any significant change (see analysis of Fiat 500-Panda vs. VW Up! for June 2012). These two models count for 76% of main models fall. But in terms of percentage fall, the winner is the C-Compact Bravo with a spectacular fall of 47%, or 6.063 units less. This car is not old at all but the positioning given by the brand has not been the best allowing the VW Golf to keep its pole position among C-Segment cars. Nevertheless the german compact begins to suffer the consequences of its old age which can be seen by the good result gotten by the Giulietta (the best selling compact in April, May and June), which ‘only’ falls 18%, but is an alarm sign to Alfa as it is the only competitive product and is just 2 years old. Other really bad performers are Alfa MiTo, which just sold 16% more than Mini and 20% more than Audi A1, and Lancia Delta, down 36%. In a market that falled 20%, the Panda, Ypsilon and Freemont did quite well. The new generation Panda helped this popular model to maintain its sales figures and allowed it to become the country’s best selling car by far. Same situation for the Ypsilon, very popular in Turin. Fiat as a brand falled as much as the market, while Lancia did better only falling 11% and Alfa Romeo dropped 31%.

Total sales of B segment main models in Italy. The latest launches had the best performance, while those with more years in the market dropped their sales. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

Although Giulietta’s sales have fallen in Italy during the first half, it was Italy’s best selling compact car (C-Segment) in May and June. Very bad results for the Fiat Bravo. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net and http://www.unrae.it

Thanks to new Panda, Ypsilon and somehow the Giulietta and Freemont, Fiat Group has been able to rise its market share in Italy. The evolution of each model is compared to the performance of each segment according to UNRAE. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net and http://www.unrae.it

Fiat Group’s model composition in Italy during the first half of 2012. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net and http://www.unrae.it

USA

As usual, American sales figures are just amazing. The total market has returned to pre crisis numbers but Chrysler Group is doing much better, eventhough the new entry model, Dodge Dart, is available from late June. The Ram grew 24%, much more than its rivals, thanks to the good results got by the luxury versions. If rumors are confirmed, a diesel version would have a positive impact for the rest of the year. But in terms of the largest impact on the total growth on sales, the Chrysler 200 is certainly the main character, because it represented 16% of total growth, or 37.000 more cars. The deep facelift that received the Chrysler Sebring has made consumers to come back to Chrysler in the C-Segment. Besides the good Ad campaign regarding its American origin has given it more awareness among consumers. With less sales figures but equal interesting results, the Chrysler 300 took off, up an amazing 200% (anyway it is still far away from its rivals, most of them already renewed). As most of models had great performances (thanks to better economic situation), only those having bad results deserved a close analysis: the old couple Compass/Patriot did not well during the period. The Compass falled 1%, while the Patriot grew 12%, below total market. It is clear that these models are old enough and competition gets really hard with all new models, but it is weird that the Compass and not the Patriot falled when the only the first one had an interesting restyling. Another fact to consider is that minivans don’t count in Chrysler’s sales as much as they did one year ago, and now Jeep Grand Cherokee and Wrangler occupied the second and third place of best selling Chrysler models. The group, included Fiat sales numbers, grew up two times more than total markets allowing it to increase its market share up to 11.5%. By brands only Dodge/Ram had stable growth, while Chrysler had an amazing growth of 75%, Jeep up 28% and the Fiat 500, up 319% to 20.706 cars, more than the whole year 2011.

The Fiat 500 had the best performance compared to H1 2011. Anyway most models did better than the whole market. It is weird what happened to Dodge Durango which has been on sale for less than 2 years, shares platform and components with the successful Jeep Grand Cherokee. Source: http://www.goodcarbadcar.net

The figure shows the total units sold during the first half and then the change in terms of percentage and units. After that there is the contribution of each model to total growth in terms of units. Chrysler models are the ones which contributed the most for the total growth. Source: http://www.goodcarbadcar.net

EUROPE

Outside Italy the situation is really bad. Without taking into account UK and Austria figures (only Czech Rep., Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland), the main models of the group sold 115.275 units, down 17.5%, a bit less than what happened in Italy. Of course not all the markets had the same performance as the largest ones had the deepest fall: France down 25%, and Germany down 13%, compared to a total fall in France of 14% while Germany grew 0.7% (part of that growth due to self-sales). But the top 9 models had the worst fall in Greece, a market that dropped 41% in the first half. Spain, other troubled market, surprisingly was good for these models, which grew up 4%, or 500 more units. Once again the Fiat Bravo got the worst figures falling in all markets as a response to Fiat’s decision of reducing the range and options. Germany has been the largest market for the Punto after Italy, but this year the model has fallen 48% over there, even more than the fall seen in Greece, but less than the horrible result in Spain and the Netherlands. Certainly the model is not anymore popular. The Panda had good and bad results but in general the car continues to be popular, though its total result was severely affected by the deep fall in France, where the market is going bad. As in Italy Lancia goes better thanks to the Ypsilon, which had excellent numbers in terms of growth but still low numbers in terms of units delivered. One year ago the old model barely sold one thousand units but with the arrival of the new 5 door generation the Lancia sold 4 times more, and is especially popular in Greece where it has become one of top 20. Alfa Romeo does not do good at all with its 2 models falling in the ranking, especially the MiTo, which never had good results. In terms of the dependence of the models on the Italian market the situation changes a lot according to the car. Without any doubt the Fiat 500 is the most international model of the group as only 34% of its sales are done in Italy. Surprisingly the Alfa MiTo is the next model to have less sales share in Italy, as 52% of them are done outside Italy. It is certainly interesting to see the result of the MiTo taking into account that the Giulietta is more popular. The Lancias continue to be popular only in Italy and it seems the new generation Ypsilon will depend on Italian market no matter the fact is built in Poland.

This figure shows the Export ratio of Fiat Group’s main models in Europe. The Fiat 500 is the one less dependant on Italian market thanks to great sales in the UK, France and Germany. On the other hand there is the Lancia Ypsilon, whose new generation has not been able to change its strong dependance on Italy. Europe includes: CZ, DK, F, D, GR, IR, NL, PL, SK, SL, E, S, Switzerland and the UK. Source: www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

Sales growth of each model in each market for the first half of 2012. Good results for the Ypsilon, Freemont and 500. To bad for the Punto, Bravo and MiTo. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

One year ago the Punto was Fiat’s best selling car outside Italy (28% of total sales). In 2012 H1 the fall of its sales allowed the Panda, 500 and Ypsilon to have better share among Fiat models. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

BRAZIL

In Brazil the analysis gets larger as more models are really popular over there. The market is stable with a tiny fall of 0.3% and is expected more sales in the second half thanks to some incentives given by the government. In this context Fiat continues to be the leader and keeps its market share above 22% thanks to one single model, the new Palio. Its registrations have risen 63% and is now the third bestselling car of that country, but it is still far behind from the king of the market, the VW Gol. Although year-to-date numbers are still low, the arrival of the new Siena, aka Grand Siena, has made of this model another great performer and the results will be seen at the end of the year. The Uno, in its second year, falls 11% partly because of the arrival of the new Palio, which could be catching some of its sales (Palio is B-Segment and Uno is A-Segment, but they are close in size and prices), and also because of the success the facelifted VW Fox is having (up 19%), also from A-Segment. But the worse comes from C-Segment: the Linea falls 36% and it seems it will continue like that until a deep facelift arrives. The Bravo stopped its fall in the last month thanks to new engines and features. Good for the Punto (-2%) which got its first deep facelift in July/12, and the Freemont, with 1 thousand units sold per month, not bad considering its high price. The small 500 is doing also good allowing the Toluca plant to keep working. For the second semester things will get hard for Fiat with the arrival of the facelift of VW Gol/Voyage and the all new Hyundai HB20, exclusively designed for Brazilian market.

The new Fiat Palio has had a great start. The new Siena will also change total year’s result. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

CANADA & ARGENTINA

The situation in Canada is not as spectacular as in USA. Chrysler group (included Fiat 500 figures), had the same growth of total market, but it is much more than its competitors from Ford and GM. Actually the group has the second place and sells more than GM, but is now facing the threat of a strong Toyota in fourth place and growing much more. Fiat sold 4.920 cars, up 92% and it seems the small 500 has reached its maximum. The Ram (up 16%) and Grand Caravan (down 6%) are among top 5 best selling cars of that country. In Argentina where total market continues its instability, Fiat is doing good with the new Siena, up 10%, the Uno, up 11%, and the Strada, up a massive 74%, or 2105 units more. Bad for the Palio (the new generation just began local production some weeks ago), the Punto (the restyling will arrive by the end of the year). The small 500 sold almost 2.000 units.

The Fiat 500 sells more than many other Chrysler models. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

*Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge.

Source: www.carsitaly.net, www.bestsellingcarsblog.net, http://www.goodcarbadcar.net

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June 2012, a quick brief to Fiat-Chrysler results

While the analysis for the first semester gets ready, here it is a quick review of most important facts about Fiat-Chrysler sales figures for June/12. In Italy the bad situation continues with a total market that dropped 24% year on year to 129.000 cars. However Fiat Group managed to increase its market share up 0.4 points. This ‘good’ result is due to the good acceptance of new generation Panda that has become the country’s best selling car above the traditional Punto. The Panda, whose sales include the old and new generation, was again in the podium for 6th consecutive month and its sales were up 5% year on year but down 15% compared to May figures. This is because the summer has just started and normally car sales fall during this time. The old Punto, whose new generation was delayed again, suffers the consequences and falls 34%! Is a pity how Fiat is treating this car and it should tells Marchionne to change his mind, because no matter it is still one of best selling cars in Italy, Fiat could have a larger market share in B-segment with an all new Punto. The best prove: the all new Peugeot 208 managed to occupy place number 13 among best selling cars with more than 2 thousand units sold. It shows the impact that a new generation can have in consumers no matter the bad situation (new Toyota Yaris occupied place number 6!). The Fiat 500 is also doing good as it was the third bestselling car in Italy but its sales falled 26% compared to May figures. One more Fiat to had a good performance was the Freemont with more than 1400 units sold. The same quantity sold by Lancia Delta which had its best month so far. The small Ypsilon continues to impress, especially in Turin, with more than 4200 units and once again the Alfa Romeo Giulietta impresses ahead of VW Golf by more than 400 units. The Giulietta seems to get the leadership of C-Segment while the Golf, still popular, begins to suffer the same illness of Fiat Punto. Very bad numbers for Alfa Romeo MiTo, with less than 1000 units delivered below the Mini and Audi A1. By brands it is important to mention the great result of Lancia which occupied place number 3 mainly because of the good result of the Ypsilon and Delta, as the American models seem to not to take off.

Even the arrival of new sporty versions of the Punto, the car can’t stop its sales drop all over Europe, Italy included

Meanwhile in America the situation is really different. The total market had an awesome growth of 22% year on year. More or less, all Chrysler models had good results: the Ram pickup was the country’s number 10 best selling car, decreasing one position compared to May/12. It sold almost 24.000 units, up 17%, less than the whole market, but much more than Ford F Series and Chevrolet Silverado (11% and 3%). The Chrysler 200 and Jeep Grand Cherokee continue to impress with great sales figures up 51% and 39%. Nevertheless the Jeep sold 1.500 units less than Ford Explorer. In the case of the Chrysler part of the success is explained by the good welcome it has had in California, the largest market in the States. The Wrangler was Jeep’s best selling model with more than 14.000 units, up 28%. Other great performances were the Dodge Avenger (+68%), Jeep Liberty (+50%), Chrysler Town & Country (+32%) and of course the awesome result of Chrysler 300 with almost 7.000 units delivered, up a massive 179%. It seems that finally Americans begin to like it, as it had a very slow begining during 2011. Fiat managed to sell again more than 4.000 units of its 500, growing 122% year on year, and just 172 below the Mini. If the trend continues the successful mini car could meet Marchionne’s first forecast of selling 50.000 units per year, especially now that there is the new Ad campaign. Bad results for Dodge Caravan, up only 1%, Dodge Charger, up 18%, the old Jeep Patriot, down 4%, and Jeep Compass, -15%. Weird what is happening to Dodge Durango, the all new big SUV presented recently. The car is not popular at all as it should be coming from its successful cousin, the Jeep Grand Cherokee. The Durango sold only 3.300 units compared to 12.500 of the Jeep, and was down 43%.  By brands only Dodge/Ram combined grew less than the market, 5%, but Chrysler had an excellent month growing 62.5% (due to 200 and 300 models) and Jeep sold 23% more. At the end, due to Dodge/Ram results, the whole group grew less than total market but it keeps its market share around 11%.

The Chrysler 200 has become the symbol of reborn of Chrysler

Pretty much what happened in Brazil. Fiat registrations grew less than total market which had its second best month ever, up a massive 19% thanks to new incentives given by the government to stop the slow down of last months. Nevertheless Fiat kept its market share but did not get as much as consumers as it could had done. It sold 18% more than one year ago. The only good performance was the new Palio, up 103%, which occupies place number 4 among best selling cars of that country. Even like that it seems the B-Segment Fiat has arrived to its top of sales and will not be able to reach the sales figures of VW Gol. The new Siena is doing well but is taking time to beat its rivals, the VW Voyage and Chevrolet Corsa Sedan. In June it sold 9.500 units, up 8%, just 35 units below the Corsa and 354 above the Voyage. The Uno sold almost 26.000 units and was again Brazil’s second best selling car, but its performance was not brilliant: +1.6%. The Fiat Strada had the worst result. One year ago it was Brazil’s 5th best selling car with more than 10.500 units sold. In June 2012 it sold 8.400. The facelift presented in June must help to revitalize the pickup. Further down, the Punto, whose facelift was presented some days before, sold around 300 units more but lost market share with the rise of Nissan March, imported from Mexico with very competitive prices. Also from Mexico, the small 500 sold more than 1.300 units, but is far from 2.400 units sold in March of this year. The C-Segment is again a problem for Fiat. Though the facelifted Bravo just arrived in June to the dealers, it continues to fall in the list, and during June/12 it was down 8.1% and the Linea, without any facelift, dropped 57% (without taking into account that new generation of Hyundai i30 has not arrived yet).

The new Palio and Fiat 500 in Brazil. Both cars have had an enormous success over there. Photo by 500blog

In Canada Chrysler Group along with Fiat had moderate results. The whole group just grew 0.5% in a market that is slowing down for the first time in 2012. The best performance was the Dodge Caravan, up 10% and reaching more than 6.000 units, very close to the 6.342 Rams delivered. Both cars are number 2 and 3 best selling cars. Fiat sold 48% more but as in Brazil is far away from 1.200 units sold in March and April of this year. For the first time in this year, Argetinian results were negative. The whole market falled 12% and Fiat dropped 23% as it had some problems with production in its Cordoba factory. All models falled except the small 500 that counted 389 units, not far from the record achieved in May. The uncertain situation of Argentinean economy must continue to affect car sales. In Europe things are going really bad. Due to lack of new models Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands drop their sales more than the average of the market, especially in France and Germany. In the UK the good performance of Fiat 500, again in Top 10 during June, allowed Fiat brand to fall  only 1.3%. Lancia improves but its numbers are really marginal. In France only the mini cars, the 500 and Panda, had a ‘good’ result, up 3% and 8%, but the Punto falled a extreme 44%, and the beautiful Giulietta dropped 29% in its third year of commercial life. In Germany the situation with the Punto gets really worrying: the car dropped a spectacular 67% and could not even sold more than 1.000 units, in a market that grew 3% during that month. The 500 falled 3% due to the great success of the VW Up!, while the new Panda grew 6.2%. The Giulietta falled 21%. In the troubled Spain, Fiat brand grew an interesting 22% against the general fall of 12% thanks to great performance of Fiat 500, up 73%, and Panda, up 145%.

 

Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net and http://www.carsitaly.net

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Is Marchionne doing wrong?

Sergio Marchionne has been Fiat Group’s CEO since 2004. By the time he became the Amministratore Delegato, Fiat was facing very tough times due to an internal crisis that began some years before. Sales figures of all group’s brands were struggling with problems in Italy and all over Europe, as they were trying to solve the divorce with GM. Marchionne found a company full of bureaucracy and with several problems. By the end of that year Fiat Auto sold 20.539 million euros and lost 840 million euros*. It was another bad year for the Italians who were suffering the consequences of very bad decisions taken some years before, during the 90’s when the whole group failed with lot of products all over Europe.  No matter the success of the 2 first generations of the Punto, and the arrival of the new Panda, in 2004 the situation was really dramatic and one of main reasons were quality and after-sales problems. The last years of the 90’s were not really good years to remember. Fiat was introducing a lot of models but forgot that good quality was emerging as one of key factors taken into account by consumers. Eventhough they had unique designs, cars like the Fiat Bravo/Brava, and Marea, Lancia Dedra, Kappa, and Thesis, or the Alfa 166, lacked of good quality and they were made with very low cost materials. Besides, the 3 brands were not quite well represented in several countries of Europe, something that affected the quality of after sale service. Those bad decisions in terms of the quality of the product had a big effect on Fiat’s position in Europe explained by the fact that the Italians were Europe’s largest car maker by sales figures in the 80’s and by the end of the 90’s its market share was dropping significantly. Fiat was no longer the leader.

Fiat Bravo/Brava presented in 1995. Though they had a unique design, their quality was below the average of the segment. A flop

Nevertheless, the arrival of Marchionne meant a big change on Fiat’s understanding of making and selling cars. By focusing on the launch of fresh models with better quality and calling off the agreement with General Motors, Fiat experienced a period of recovery and a better position in Italy and abroad. The first product to prove it was the Grande Punto, launched in 2005 as the third generation of the successfull B-Segment model. They offered a new car with great engines and soon the company realized the importance of efficient and low emission engines. In 2006 Fiat had the largest sales increase in Europe with 18%, above VW Group, the French and Americans, in a whole market that grew only 0.7%**. Certainly the new Punto played a key role on this result (its registrations were up 22%). Eventhough the quality was not still a main characteristic of the group’s products (the Alfa 159 launched in 2005 is a good example), consumers appreciated the new products. But Marchionne did not stop, he wanted more and he wanted to impress the market. That is why in July 2007 Fiat presented what can be considered its best product of the last 3 decades, the new Fiat 500. And they certainly hit the market with a unique car and all-new marketing strategies. In 2007 Fiat Auto (Fiat + Alfa + Lancia) sold 1.847.714 vehicles world wide from which almost 800 thousand were delivered in Italy***. One year later they sold the same amount, but in 2009 Fiat Auto sold 2 million cars , up 9%, thanks to a record year in Germany (Government support to car industry) and Brazil. By that year two events took place and changed Fiat history: the begining of international financial crisis and Chrysler bankruptcy.

The presentation of the Fiat 500 in Turin in July 2007. The small car represents the era of Marchionne and is perhaps Fiat’s best product in the last 3 decades.

What was considered as crazy move by most of specialized press, resulted in Marchionne’s best play. As is usual on him, he saw what most of people could not see. He anticipated European automotive crisis and therefore he decided to purchase Chrysler no matter the bad future it had by that time. Fiat needed a partner to expand its business and ensure its future. Marchionne knew this partner was going to be essential for the coming years. And he was right. 3 years later is not Fiat saving Chrysler but the opposite. And of course the ‘miracle’ experienced by Chrysler is the result of very good decisions made by Sergio Marchionne and his team. The recovery of the Pentastar was another goal of the Italo-Canadian manager. In 2009 he saw that Europe was in the way of collapse in terms of car sales, and that’s why he bought Chrysler so Fiat could survive. After that the story is well known by everyone. The Chrysler/Dodge products arrived in Europe as Fiat/Lancias, with very low sales objectives as the conditions of the market were getting really bad. The rebadged Chrysler 300 and Voyager was a really controversial decision but at the end is part of a mid-term strategy to give Lancia some oxygen for the coming years. At the end Lancia and Chrysler will develop their models and adapt them to their markets. If it was or not a good decision does not really matter as these models (Lancia Thema, Voyager and Flavia) are not expected to have brilliant sales figures (original sales forecast for the first year of both, Thema and Voyager, were 10.000 units each, but Jan-May/12 sales figure indicates only 800 cars were sold so far).

This figure shows the evolution of sales of main models of Fiat since 1988. Notice the continous fall of Fiat Punto since 2001, the growth of small Panda and 500, the flop of C-segment with the latest Bravo, and the disparition of D-segment. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.net

But the European automotive crisis is being worse than expected and all problems behind it are daily news. Most of all European markets drops with significant falls in what used to be one of world’s largest markets: Italy, Spain and France. The fact that car registrations fall up to 2 digits every month and the trend does not change, has turned on the alarm of all automotive CEOs. Europe is not anymore the big and healthy market of more than 15 million cars per year. Those years could be considered not only the good past but also the unreal one, as it seems car sales figures were extremely high and contaminated by government helps. Europe will keep buying cars but much less. The problem is that all car makers built their European future based on the best years and therefore they increased their production capacity with more and more plants and employes. Of course, with current conditions it is not feasible to keep the statu-quo. Things must be changed in order to face the coming years. First it came the disparition of Saab and then the big problems of the big of Europe: Fiat closed its factory in Sicily in december/10, and now PSA is fighting with French government to fire 8000 employes and close one of its French plants. The same is happening to Ford and Opel. VW sees how its best sellers Golf and Polo decline their registrations. All these problems are the consequence of a market that does not buy as before because of an economic crisis that affects all.

This figure shows the position got by main models of Fiat Auto since 1988 in Europe. In 1997 the Fiat Punto was Europe’s best selling car but its leadership has fallen and is no more in Europe’s top 10. Good evolution of minicars with Panda and 500. Notice how far is the current Fiat Bravo from the great places gotten by its predecessors in the 90’s. The same situation for D-segment where Alfa has no more representation. The Ypsilon has had a continuos fall and is no more in the top 50. The other Lancias are not popular at all. Source: http://www.bestsellingcarsblog.com

In this context Fiat’s position is not the best. It depends a lot of Italian market, one of region’s most affected. Besides, there is the debate about Italian competitiveness and labor conditions. Fiat is having aditional problems with its labor force in Italy and this is making it more exposed to the crisis. They are losing money with Italy as their plants located world wide are more competitive and generate more cash. But again is something well known by everyone. The point is the way Sergio Marchionne wants to get out of the crisis. Certainly his decisions cause always controversy. People may agree or disagree but at the end most of them recognized he is perhaps Fiat’s main ‘asset’. His capacity of work and the way he anticipates the future are without any doubt a great tool for Fiat-Chrysler group. Now, after 8 years managing the company, he must take the hardest decisions ever. And is when more controversy appears. He wants to reduce Fiat’s dependance on Europe by increasing Fiat-Chrysler presence in Asia. He wants to find a partner to become more global. He wants to increase Fiat’s capacity in Brazil. And Europe? in Europe he wants to wait. He believes the worst has not occurred and he prefers to delay the launch of several new models. Why? he believes doing the opposite would mean a suicide with current conditions. It means that a key model such as the old Punto will have to wait for its successor. It means Fiat’s decision to surpass the crisis is by doing and expending less. But is it a right decision?

The Punto is with the Corsa (both share the same platform) the eldest of the segment. French are the latest to arrive with awesome products.

Fortunatelly just before the crisis began, the new generation of Fiat Panda was almost ready. It allowed the best seller to ensure its future with a modern successor. But things do not work like that for the rest of the range and becomes dramatic when taking into account that Marchionne’s decision of delaying new launches includes the successful and vital Punto. Yes, he might not consider the fact that the B-Segment car has been Fiat’s main product for the last 19 years. The same situation applies for the other segments: in the C-Segment the Bravo will have to wait until late 2013 for a successor that will come from China, the Giulietta won’t have the expected Station Wagon version until 2014, while the Delta will be in the catalogue for at least 2 or 3 more years. Alfa will wait till 2014 to see the new Giulia for D-Segment while the MiTo won’t have a 5 door version till the same year. The SUV expected for Alfa Romeo has not even a date of presentation. The only progress to be seen in the horizon is the 500 family that will be enlarged by the arrival of the 500L by September 2012, and then in 2013 the presentation of the 500X (the small SUV). It is my believe that Fiat can delay all future launches of its cars but should not jeopardize the future of the Punto. Marchionne must have very solid reasons to put off the new generation and he constantly says that starting production of the new generation with current market conditions would be flop. And of course car companies as all others exist to earn money. If his financial and market forecasts tell him it is not the right time to launch the new Punto, then he is right. Yes, nowadays Europeans don’t buy cars as before and it seems it will be like this for 2 or 3 more years. But there is something wrong in all this. Or at least is what I think.

20 years ago Fiat was strong in A, B, C and D-Segments. Nowadays it is just popular among mini cars. Slowly it has lost presence in larger segments, as it does not have anymore D-segment models, while in the C-Segment is losing a lot of market share. The next segment to be affected by the lack of new models will be the B one.

Fiat is not VW. It means it does not have the financial strenght to allow itself to mistake. VW can have problems with its gear box in China but its excellent position in the market allows it to answer to this problem in a short time offering the best solution. Fiat-Chrysler does not have the right to do wrong as it has had lot of problems in recent past. And is this particular topic in which I consider Marchionne is repeating the history. Fiat did wrong in the 90’s with quality problems and still suffers the consequences of bad image in the whole continent (Italy included). They realized how important is to do the right things. Now, for the first time, I disagree with Mr. Marchionne and I believe they are making a mistake as big as the one of the 90’s: they abandon current clients and tell them to move to other car makers as Fiat products don’t change. As simple as that. Yes, Fiat is saving money or at least not losing it by investing in the development of new cars. And yes, it does not make sense to invest in new C or D-Segment cars when the position of the company is not really strong in those segments. But the situation changes when talking about small car segments, Fiat’s core business. What is more risky? to invest in the launch of new Punto and the sequent low sales proper of current situation, or to lose the current Punto clients and then have less market share in this important segment? people may be delaying their decision of changing their car, but at the end every month there are almost 1 million Europeans doing so. The market is smaller but it exists, and Fiat should think about it. Or why Peugeot just launched the 208? Or Renault presented the awesome new Clio? they have the same problems of Fiat, but eventhough they continue. At the end the only beneficiary of this decision will be VW and Koreans who will increase even more their market share. If Fiat wants to sell more they must offer more. The 500L is a product that can work but is not enough. The MiTo and Ypsilon are not competitive and do not offer anything new. Dealers can not wait more for new products. European autoshows can not continue being the scenario for lack of new products. Alfa Romeo can not resist anymore with only 2 models. Fiat-Chrysler should act according to how the market evolves. They should forecast not only sales but also the production and future development costs. Just time will demostrate how right is Marchionne’s decision. But time will also prove how difficult will it be for Fiat to regain the lost clients, who will be surely inloved with their VW Polo, Peugeot 208 or Renault Clio.

* DATI PRELIMINARI DELL’ESERCIZIO 2004 E RISULTATI DEL QUARTO TRIMESTRE FIAT Spa

** Fiat sales boost leads Europe in 2006. Fiat News New Zealand

*** http://www.carsitaly.net

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Marchionne points how to get out of the crisis

Once again Sergio Marchionne is the source of news. This time, as usual from last months, bad news. Yesterday at the presentation of Fiat 500L, he surprised the press when he said that one of Fiat’s plant in Italy could be closed. It would be the second one after the one in Termini Imerese in Sicily, closed in December 2011. “If current overcapacity conditions continue within the next 24-36 monts, there is one factory in excess in Italy” said Mr. Marchionne. Nothing precise but again one more warning from Fiat’s AD to Italy’s authorities looking to change current labor conditions and make easier the production of cars in that country. Of course it was just a estatement, but after it he practically confirmed his intentions. He said he was not expecting good times in Europe for the next 24-36 months and again he defended the idea of cutting $500 million in Europe’s investement included the launch of new generation of Punto, “it would be a flop” he said.

Italian Fiat’s plants. Source: Corriere della Sera

Currently Fiat has 5 production plants in Italy, all of them facing real tough times. The largest one, Val di Sangro in Chieti employs 6.217 people and in 2009 used only 33% of its capacity and is expected to use 69% by the year 2014. According to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, estimations for production in the other plants is better but a bit pessimistic and opposite to what Marchionne thinks will be the market in the next 2 years. 2 years ago Fiat signed an agreement with Italian government to bring back the production of more cars to Italy as part of Fabbrica Italia plan. Today the situation is completely different although Fiat kept its word bringing back the production of its bestselling mini car, the Panda from Poland to Pomigliano plant. It is perhaps the plant with better future as that model is very popular in Italy and will continue to be Italy’s best seller. But things don’t work like that for the other plants. Mirafiori factory in Turin, Fiat’s first plant, faces a big challenge: or it changes or it disappears. Nowadays just produce the Alfa Romeo MiTo as the Lancia Musa and Fiat Multipla are no longer produced. The MiTo has never been a success not even in Italy and now is living the decline period of its commercial life. It means that the big Mirafiori plant needs urgently more models to produce if it wants to survive. Fortunatelly for Turin, Fiat is thinking to produce there the new family of small SUV for Fiat brand and Jeep to sell not only in Europe but in America. Actually, yesterday during the presentation of the 500L, Olivier Francois, Fiat brands CEO, showed a quick outview of what will be the Fiat 500X, the compact SUV based on the 500 and that will share body type and components with a future small Jeep.

Fiat 500X. The model was quickly showed during the presentation of the 500L. Photo by Autoblog.com

It all means that for coming years Fiat must face the current crisis doing both: closing a second plant and using the remaining ones as its maximum as they will export to America. The first option seems to be easier because European made cars have never been popular in the US market because of Currency reasons. However it is expected a less expensive Euro and it would allow European cars to be more competitive in the opposite shore. Toyota will soon do it with its Yaris to arrive in America from its French factory. The lack of demand in Europe could be replaced by the good times car industry is having now in USA and Canada, and it could fit perfectly for Fiat-Chrysler as their American plants are working almost 100% of their capacity (see production problems for Jeep Wrangler) and they need other sources of production. If Italian plants continue to depend exclusively on European market their future will be committed as short and midterm situation will not improve. They need to look outside Europe: America, Africa and Middle East. The possibility of closing a plant was one of the headlines of Italian news yesterday. Actually the governor of Piemonte region (where Fiat was born), Roberto Cota, said that Fiat has had a lot from Piemonte territory and must not forget it. At the same time Susana Camusso, the general secretary of CGIL, one of Italy’s most important Labor Unions, said that the government should look for another car maker to come and produce locally, “also Japanese could work”, she said. To close a plant has never been easy for any producer. It means less investment and more unemployment. Marchionne knows it and that’s why he is just making assumptions that at the end will become a reality.

The Cassino plant in Frosinone where they produce the Bravo, soon to be replaced by a Chinese model?

But what to do in this case? if Fiat is loosing money in Italy and situation does not seem to get better, they must do something quickly. Of course the easiest way is closing a factory or firing people. But there are more solutions. Italian government could help not by giving incentives but changing the labor conditions there are right now in Italy. For Mrs. Camusso is easy to say to bring other car makers to the country, but which one could come to Italy with current labor conditions? I personally doubt that any car maker would invest in Italy if they keep labor code. It is not about becoming the new China in terms of workforce and welfare, but it is to understand that the world has changed and Europe can not be competitive anymore if they keep their status quo. There is now more competition from the south and  investors are looking there to take their money. And it works not only for car industry but for everything. Italy must change. Otherwise the complains saw in the press about the origin of the new Fiat 500L will become an usual fact. Complains about the fact that the car was going to be produced in Serbia while Marchionne was thinking to close a factory in Italy. Of course are not good news for Italy, but Italians should think about the reason for this, because the 500L was initially going to be produced in Mirafiori plant but then Fiat decided to shift it to Serbia as non flexible labor conditions and strikes have become an usual scenario. Fiat must keep Italy as one of its core markets, but Italy must reconsider its relationship with Fiat.